One Oxford exhibition of Tolkien’s life and genius to rule them all

The University of Oxford unveiled a “once-in-a-generation” exhibition of materials related to The Lord Of The Rings author JRR Tolkien, featuring previously unseen objects from several countries.

Tolkien: Maker Of Middle-Earth, which opened in its Bodleian Libraries on June 1, presents manuscripts, artworks, maps, letters and artefacts in the biggest display in decades on the beloved British author – whose works gave rise to the hugely successful film series.

Some of the exhibits are returning to Oxford – where Tolkien spent most of his adult life – for the first time since his death in the historic English city in 1973.

“What we wanted to show was Tolkien’s original work, stripping back interpretations to where it all started,” said curator Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien archivist at the libraries.

The displays showcase the range of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s output, from early abstract paintings and tales he wrote for his children, to material related to works published posthumously.

“Tolkien has always been a global phenomenon even when he was alive,” said Richard Ovenden, who heads the libraries. “And we’re really the only institution that can do this, having far and away the largest collections of Tolkien materials.”

A map of Tolkien’s Middle-earth at the exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth. The exhibition that curates a large amount of Tolkien-related materials from around the world.

Bodleian – the university’s main research library – has presented much of this extensive archive, alongside interactive elements such as a three-dimensional map of his imagined “middle-earth”.

But among the centrepieces of the exhibition are some loans: rare draft manuscripts and exquisite illustrations for The Hobbit – Tolkien’s breakthrough published in 1937 – and his 1954 follow-up The Lord Of The Rings.

The displays, which also include his own stunning draft book jacket designs for the works, were borrowed from Marquette University, a Catholic institution in the US state of Wisconsin. It acquired them from Tolkien in the late 1950s.

“To bring those back to Oxford for the first time in 60 years (we knew) was just going to be extraordinary,” added McIlwaine. She estimates at least a third of the 200 items in the exhibition, which took her five years to organise, have never been seen publicly before.

An illustration entitled Bilbo Comes To The Huts Of The Raftelves by Tolkien.

Personal aspects of his life are evoked, including childhood and student days, his career as a scholar of literature, and his family life.

The displays include numerous items loaned by his third son Christopher Tolkien, notably the writing desk and chair from the home office where the author created his fantastical worlds.

Memorable fan mail from over the years is also on show, such as a letter from a then 19-year-old Terry Pratchett, the English author of fantasy novels, which began: “This is simply a letter of appreciation”.

Bodleian organisers hope visitors will also explore Tolkien’s relationship with Oxford. Born in South Africa, Tolkien was raised in and around Birmingham but arrived in Oxford as an undergraduate at Exeter College.

He returned as a professor of English language and literature at Merton College, becoming friends with other rising literary figures there, including CS Lewis.

The university professor with a consuming passion for rare, historical languages and a vivid imagination, is also buried in Wolvercote Cemetery in a northern suburb. Legions of fans flock there to lay flowers at his grave.